Craig Borland

A trip to the pantomime is an essential ingredient of many people’s Christmas...but in the case of Rothesay Primary School this week, pupils didn’t even need to leave the building as the pantomime came to them.

Hopscotch Theatre Company’s production of Dick Whittington and his Amazing Cat rolled into Rothesay on Thursday, and the cast soon had their young audience cheering and yelling enthusiastically along to Raymond Burke’s version of the familiar children’s tale.

With ‘panto dame’ Wilma and baddie Oscar Rattington-Smythe leading the fun as Dick and his cat Bingo make their way to London in search of the streets that are paved with gold, there was plenty of fun for pupils of all ages to enjoy - and more than a few gags guaranteed to raise a smile among the teachers and parents watching too.

* Preparations for Bute’s own community pantomime are coming along well, with rehearsals for the Bute Amateur Players’ production of Sleeping Beauty, being produced in conjunction with Achievement Bute, gathering pace ahead of the show’s two performances at Rothesay Pavilion, on December 20 and 21.

Tickets, priced £8 for adults, £6 for children or £20 for a family of two adults and two children, are available from Rothesay Pavilion (tel 01700 504250), Achievement Bute (tel 01700 505558) and local bookshop Print Point (tel 01700 503389).